Monday, October 15, 2007
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8 a.m. to 9 a.m. – General Sessions
The Crisis in Crisis Communications - Ballrooms I, II, III
 Gerard Braud, President, Braud Communications
  • Leaders are often the biggest impediment to effective crisis communications, often resulting in death or injury of stakeholders. Gerard Braud explores the characteristics of leaders who will succeed and those who will fail in a crisis. In this session:
    • Discover why bottom up leadership is required
    • Explore the crisis in defining what is and what isn’t a crisis plan
    • Unlock the secret to knowing if your leadership is destine for failure

9:15 a.m. to 10:30 a.m. – Conference Sessions
M1 – Managing Reputation Online - Ballroom I
 Rick Miller, Northlich
Sarah Fuhrman, v-Fluence
  • Recently, media giant Gannett announced a radical change in how it gathers news – with big implications for business. Gannett’s reporters are now using “citizen journalists” and looking to blogs, online discussion boards and chat rooms for story ideas and news sources. Now, anyone with a keyboard can be credentialed and handed a megaphone, regardless of their biases or motives. A brilliant move for the media, but with scary implications for business. Rick Miller will break this trend down and show business communicators:
    • How they can easily monitor the Web.
    • How to address negative and incorrect information.
    • How to get their side of the story out.
M2 – Leveraging “Moving Images” for Today’s Digital Communications Demands - Ballroom II
 Stan and Teresa Mendoza, Mendoza Media, LLC
  • As technology evolves and increased bandwidth proliferates, “moving images”, i.e., videos, are becoming increasingly important tools for internal and external communications. Communicators who typically work with text and print based communications will need to know how to leverage the powerful elements of the video medium for “moving images” initiatives. Are you prepared to transform communications objectives into “moving images” with impact? In this session, through several case studies, you will learn:
    • How creative approach and filming technique can facilitate and strengthen message communication.
    • How graphics, graphic animation and sound design can reinforce communication objectives.
    • How integrating creative elements can assure a finished piece that captures the spirit and culture of the organization, reinforces key messages and resonates with the intended audience.
M3 – How to Write a Crisis Communications Plan that Works - Ballroom III
 Gerard Braud, Braud Communications
  • Are you destined for failure in a crisis because your crisis communication plan has flaws you didn’t know existed? Do you need to tackle the monster of writing your own crisis communications plan? Gerard Braud (Jared Bro) guides you through the maze and unlocks the mystery. In this session, you will learn:
    • Secrets to keeping it thorough, yet simple.
    • Why most plans are a crisis waiting to happen.
    • The single most important aspect of crisis communications.

9:15 a.m. to 12:15 p.m. – Student/Practitioner Session
ST1 – “Active Agendas” Student Event - Captain's View Room
    • Session 1: Student-Practitioner Initial Meeting and Student Teams Plan Response (9:15 a.m. – 10:30 a.m.)
    • Session 2: Student Teams Present Solution; Follow-up Question and Answer Session with Professional Panel (11:00 a.m. – 12:15 p.m.)

11 a.m. to 12:15 p.m. – Conference Sessions
M4 – Correlations, ROI and other Strategic Stuff! - Ballroom I
 Angela Jeffrey, VMS and Institute for PR Commission on PR Measurement and Evaluation
David Kistle, Padilla Speer Beardsley
  • So you’ve heard plenty of measurement talks, but you still don’t know how to answer the big “so what?” This action-packed, interactive session summarizes two new IPR Commission white papers on the striking relationship between media coverage and business outcomes that’ll knock your socks off! It then provides a clear “Five Step Measurement Process” – fully illustrated with the “Saga of the Purple Bowler.” In this session, you will learn:
    • How to hone your measurement strategy to a science.
    • How to link your “outputs, outtakes and outcomes” once and for all!
    • How to do “magic tricks with math” – calculate ROI, Pearson correlations, Share of Discussion and proof-of-performance measures.
    • Put your measurement program to work to improve performance and productivity.
    • Allocate your resources for better results.
M5 – Why Writing Still Matters - Ballroom II
 Wilma Mathews, Arizona State University
  • Regardless of the medium, words still rule when it comes to communication. We have allowed the expansion of medium options to override the need for clear, concise text. As a result, we aren’t communicating and our audiences aren’t getting our intended messages. In this session, we will learn:
    • How to stay focused on the message rather than the medium.
    • Writing for different media.
    • Writing guidelines that apply across the spectrum.
M6 – Managing Change: Critical Lessons for Communication Professionals - Ballroom III
 Kathryn Yates, Watson Wyatt Worldwide
  • What if you were asked to lead a change effort for your company? Would you know what to do first and how communication fits into the larger change effort? This session, lead by Watson Wyatt's Global Practice Director, Kathryn Yates, focuses on a practical, disciplined and proven approach. The essential challenge is how to change the behavior of people -- explore not only what's required for success but your personal readiness for change. In this session, you will learn:
    • The three essential components for successful change management.
    • The steps for launching a successful change effort.
    • Their personal readiness for change.

12:30 p.m. to 2:15 p.m. – Lunch (included)
Avoiding Communications Overload - The Employee Perspective - Ballrooms I, II, III
James K. Greathouse, Director of Internal Communications, The Starbucks Coffee Company
  • Every day we communicate across a wide variety of vehicles with a wide variety of audiences. How do we choose which vehicle is right for what type of messaging? Should everything be posted to an intranet site? In this session, you will hear some best practices on using a multimedia approach to communications delivery; ensuring the right information gets to the right audience, with the most effective delivery vehicle. In this session you will learn:
    • Why planning the process backwards - from how the end user utilizes the content - fosters a good communications strategy
    • How to avoid the cardinal sin of thinking that everything should be on the intranet
    • Ways to filter your communications content using a "gatekeeper" approach

2:45 p.m. to 4 p.m. – Conference Sessions
M7 – Independent Contractor Shop Talk: How To Run Your Business More Smoothly - Ballroom I
Pamela Gilchrist, PR~Link Public Relations, LLC
  • If you are an independent contractor or are thinking about making the leap, come join the discussion! Shop Talk lifts the hood and looks at the greasy engine of running your own business. If you want your business to purr like a kitten, Gilchrist, who has worked as an independent contractor since 1999, will share best practices and moderate an exciting idea sharing session. Learn how to:
    • Work “on your business” as well as “in your business.”
    • Move from “freelancer” status to building a small firm.
    • Get and keep clients.
    • Develop and stick with a business model.
    • Know why it’s OK to just say no.
    • Manage scope creep.
    • Cry for help with office tasks.
M8 – Leveraging Search and Social Networking for Satisfaction - Ballroom II
 Dawn Marie Yankeelov, ASPectx
  • We will look at the latest trends and upcoming hot spots in social media and search. We will make sense of Google’s move to a programmable search engine and its relevance. Then we will examine growth companies having an impact on how we move through information extending reach from Linked In, Jigsaw and Collective Intellect to the latest mobile media providers. Lastly, we will delve into the commoditization of tradition services with a look at upstarts like SendoutCards, Spotrunner and related services. In this session, you will learn:
    • What is Google doing and its impact on the marketplace.
    • The latest hot spots in social networking twists.
    • Tech tool choices for simple immediate promotion.
    • Implications of all the above on Public Relations.

2:45 p.m. to 5:45 p.m. – In-Depth Session
ID1 – Getting to the Table: How to Become a Trusted Strategic Advisor - Ballroom III
 James Lukaszewski, The Lukaszewski Group Inc.
  • Jim Lukaszewski’s engaging and interactive presentation will help you look inside yourself to see how you can become an effective strategist and trusted advisor. You will learn the seven attributes of a strategist and the behaviors and attitudes that attract management attention. This program will help you focus on the powerful, motivational and personal value of being a strategic player and get you invited into the decision-making process earlier, more frequently, when it really matters. In this session, you will learn:
    • How to gain the personal trust of managers and leaders.
    • How to develop a strategic mindset.
    • What CEOs and leaders need and expect from their advisors every day.
    • The seven disciplines of the trusted strategic advisor.

4:30 p.m. to 5:45 p.m. – Conference Sessions
M9 – Beauties and Beasties: Web-based Surveys - Ballroom I
 Alice Irvan, AIRvan Consulting LLC
Terri Lynn Johnson, Eastern Illinois University
  • This session explores web-based survey options for communicators. It examines “beauties” of web-based surveys and “beasties” that can result from improper sampling, survey design, or data analysis in the project. We will introduce some basic research terms and techniques such as selecting sample, survey scales and statistical testing—all in easy-to-understand terms. We will build an online survey “live” in the session and will discuss how to analyze the data. In this session, you will learn:
    • How to find resources for web-based surveys.
    • How to increase response rates.
    • How to plan a web-based survey from concept to analysis and reporting.
M10 – Winning Isn’t Everything: Advice on Entering, Winning and Not Winning Quill Awards - Ballroom II
Deb Rieselman, University of Cincinnati
  • Learn how to approach time-consuming Quill entries in a way that not only wins awards, but also gives you a better product. None of us takes the time to properly review our work regularly, so let's consider a Call for Entries incentive for careful analysis and documentation. Learn how to benefit from your entry whether you win or not, then discover that you will actually start winning more often. In this session, you will:
    • Find out how to document your work all year long.
    • Discover tips on entering IABC Quill competitions.
    • Learn how to use entries to improve communication projects.

5:45 p.m. to 6:45 p.m.
Networking Reception

6:45 p.m.
Dine-Around